It Was A December to Remember For The Minnesota Timberwolves
It Was A December to Remember For The Minnesota Timberwolves
Recapping the month of December and if it's any indication of what we can expect for the rest of the season.
Recapping the month of December and if it's any indication of what we can expect for the rest of the season.
The month of December for the Timberwolves was brimming with some really great moments that signified a true turning point for this team. We saw the best of KAT on the defensive end than we’ve seen before. Jimmy Butler cemented himself as the leader of the team and boosted his campaign for an all-star appearance even more and even skirted into MVP territory. There were a lot of close games that the Wolves pulled out and we saw some big plays from pretty much everyone at one point or another.
It wasn’t all great by any stretch and we’ll cover those moments and certain weaknesses. But at the moment the Timberwolves are 4th in the West with a record of 24 and 14; the first time they have been over .500 after December 30th since 2003.
Where better to start off talking about the past month than to start with Jimmy Butler who has been absolutely on fire these last few weeks. After starting the season averaging just 17 points through November, there were questions surrounding Butler’s lack of aggression. He just wasn’t getting to the spots on the floor where he’s most effective. And, perhaps, what was more glaring was his failure to make it to the free throw line.
Last season, Butler was third in free throw attempts behind James Harden and Russell Westbrook. At the beginning of this season, he wasn’t following up on that production, and in fact, only attempted 95 free throws up until December. Fast forward through the month of December and Butler has sufficiently amassed those numbers with 116 FTA in the month alone. I suppose it’s also worth noting that he sank 107 of them.
Butler’s surge doesn’t stop at his free throws. He’s been scoring from practically everywhere in the month of December. In the month of December Butler averaged 26.5 points. A vast improvement from the 17 points I mentioned before. He’s also been the savior for the team multiple times when they were down, putting up games of 38, 37, and 39 points. The last of which, came in an OT thriller after both KAT and Taj Gibson had fouled out and Jeff Teague left early with a sprained MCL. Butler fought off the Nuggets down the stretch and scored 24 of the Timberwolves points in the 4th quarter and overtime to deliver one of the biggest and most gratifying wins for the Timberwolves in a very long time.
Assuming similar types of nights are sustainable for Jimmy Butler and he’s back to being the Jimmy G. Buckets of his Chicago days, he’ll be deserving of some MVP talk and it will certainly help propel the Timberwolves into a staple team of the upper echelon of the Western Conference.
Karl-Anthony Towns remained his status quo of 20 points and 11 rebounds through the month of December and while the needle didn’t move much for him offensively, we saw a much more focused, poised, decisive, and patient KAT on defense. It paid off big for him and the Wolves as he notched several games with 3 or more blocks, including a career-high 6 against the Pacers on New Year's Eve. Way to bring in 2018, KAT! He ended the month averaging 2.5 blocks per game.
Although blocks only just begin to tell the story, Towns’ defensive rating stood at 105 for the month of December; down from 107 the month before. These aren’t major improvements and nobody is going to give him any sort of merit towards the DPOY conversation. He still struggles with foul trouble from time to time --leading the league in personal fouls-- but, much like Jimmy’s improvement, if this is something sustainable for KAT, it’s going to be monumental moving forward into the playoffs. It’s not just numbers, either. KAT seems to be taking a lot of the criticism about his defense to heart. Although a lot of his critics will tell you his biggest problem was effort or focus, I never saw that to be the case. Don’t let anyone tell you that this guy doesn’t try. If anything, he was trying too much before. KAT always had a tendency to make these big, heroic blocks. He’s soar way out of position and, to his credit, made hell for the offensive player and altered the shot enough that it would rim out. The problem was that whoever he was supposed to be boxing out, found it way too easy to grab rebounds and put the ball in. But lately, Towns has been more patient and decisive going for blocks, being sure not to chase too far out of position. As well as improving his timing on going for blocks.
Taj Gibson has become the unsung hero for the team this season. He’s always been the guy that’s going to play hard defense and fight for rebounds. But we really have to commend his offense this past month. 13 points on 65% TS, not a stat that’s really going to jump out on you on a box score but his value is found when you realize how many close games the Timberwolves have played this month and how incredibly key he has been in those close games. Taj actually ended the month of December averaging 18 points over the last 4 games. That’s a huge boost when you’re already missing your starting point guard in Jeff Teague, and Andrew Wiggins has a down month.
A debt of gratitude is also deserved to Jamal Crawford. Who could’ve seen this coming? Crawford’s numbers are nothing to write home about but he goes out and hits big shot after big shot. The confidence that he displays for a 37-year-old, 17-year vet is absolutely unreal. Just looking at a rundown of his career numbers, you’d expect that this is a down year from Crawford, but he’s been composed, confident and clutch ever since he hit the game winner against Utah at the start of the season.
As I mentioned before, it hasn’t all been good and there is definite room for improvement. They seem to do a great job of coming out of the gate strong. On back to back nights against the Pacers and Lakers, they started the game with a 17-0 run and a 16-0 run. They’ve also had multiple 10+ leads after the first quarter this month. But they typically squander these leads in the second half which leads to the close games I mentioned and even a couple tough losses. Most notably, the game against the Bucks where the Wolves where the Wolves managed just 12 points in the 4th and let the game slip away when it seemed they had it secured for most of the first half. This is a trait that Timberwolves fans know well and one that plagued us last season. Fortunately, now, the team is more equipped to fend off those late runs by opponents and hopefully, it’s a peculiarity that the team leaves behind in 2017.
Another glaring shy spot for the Timberwolves this month has, unfortunately, been Andrew Wiggins. Wiggins continues to be one of the more perplexing and honestly frustrating players in the NBA today. It’s not even so much that he’s been bad. Just wildly inefficient and inconsistent...Okay, maybe that’s bad. Decide for yourself, but Andrew averaged just 15.5 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 1.2 assists in December. The lowest he’s averaged in each statistical category since his rookie season. He also currently holds the 3rd lowest offensive rating on the team, ahead of only Shabazz Muhammad and Cole Aldrich, who played a combined 13 minutes in December. Wiggins also holds just a 62% from the free throw line. So, it’s hard to see where exactly he fits in on this team. He plays essentially the same game as Butler only Butler is worlds better at it than him, and he can’t seem to be consistent from the line. His numbers aren’t necessarily awful in the big picture of the team. He’s doing enough for his team to be successful and has a good attitude, but you’d expect more from a number one overall pick that was touted as highly as Wiggins. Don’t even come close to writing him off though. He’s still an effective scorer when he ’s in his zone. But he could use a lesson in confidence and patience from Jamal Crawford and Jimmy Butler.
The Wolves now head into January, which will be the toughest month for them this season. 12 of their games are against teams currently holding playoff positions. They’ll have to endure at least most of the season without Jeff Teague as he will be sidelined for another 2-4 weeks. And although Tyus Jones is a serviceable guard on both ends, Teague’s veteran leadership will be missed in those tough games against Kyrie Irving, Damian Lillard, Steph Curry, Kyle Lowry, and Isaiah Thomas.
However, if December is any indication of what the Wolves are capable of, and if they can at least hold onto a .500 record within the month of January, they should be a lock for a top 5 seed in the West.
The month of December for the Timberwolves was brimming with some really great moments that signified a true turning point for this team. We saw the best of KAT on the defensive end than we’ve seen before. Jimmy Butler cemented himself as the leader of the team and boosted his campaign for an all-star appearance even more and even skirted into MVP territory. There were a lot of close games that the Wolves pulled out and we saw some big plays from pretty much everyone at one point or another.
It wasn’t all great by any stretch and we’ll cover those moments and certain weaknesses. But at the moment the Timberwolves are 4th in the West with a record of 24 and 14; the first time they have been over .500 after December 30th since 2003.
Where better to start off talking about the past month than to start with Jimmy Butler who has been absolutely on fire these last few weeks. After starting the season averaging just 17 points through November, there were questions surrounding Butler’s lack of aggression. He just wasn’t getting to the spots on the floor where he’s most effective. And, perhaps, what was more glaring was his failure to make it to the free throw line.
Last season, Butler was third in free throw attempts behind James Harden and Russell Westbrook. At the beginning of this season, he wasn’t following up on that production, and in fact, only attempted 95 free throws up until December. Fast forward through the month of December and Butler has sufficiently amassed those numbers with 116 FTA in the month alone. I suppose it’s also worth noting that he sank 107 of them.
Butler’s surge doesn’t stop at his free throws. He’s been scoring from practically everywhere in the month of December. In the month of December Butler averaged 26.5 points. A vast improvement from the 17 points I mentioned before. He’s also been the savior for the team multiple times when they were down, putting up games of 38, 37, and 39 points. The last of which, came in an OT thriller after both KAT and Taj Gibson had fouled out and Jeff Teague left early with a sprained MCL. Butler fought off the Nuggets down the stretch and scored 24 of the Timberwolves points in the 4th quarter and overtime to deliver one of the biggest and most gratifying wins for the Timberwolves in a very long time.
Assuming similar types of nights are sustainable for Jimmy Butler and he’s back to being the Jimmy G. Buckets of his Chicago days, he’ll be deserving of some MVP talk and it will certainly help propel the Timberwolves into a staple team of the upper echelon of the Western Conference.
Karl-Anthony Towns remained his status quo of 20 points and 11 rebounds through the month of December and while the needle didn’t move much for him offensively, we saw a much more focused, poised, decisive, and patient KAT on defense. It paid off big for him and the Wolves as he notched several games with 3 or more blocks, including a career-high 6 against the Pacers on New Year's Eve. Way to bring in 2018, KAT! He ended the month averaging 2.5 blocks per game.
Although blocks only just begin to tell the story, Towns’ defensive rating stood at 105 for the month of December; down from 107 the month before. These aren’t major improvements and nobody is going to give him any sort of merit towards the DPOY conversation. He still struggles with foul trouble from time to time --leading the league in personal fouls-- but, much like Jimmy’s improvement, if this is something sustainable for KAT, it’s going to be monumental moving forward into the playoffs. It’s not just numbers, either. KAT seems to be taking a lot of the criticism about his defense to heart. Although a lot of his critics will tell you his biggest problem was effort or focus, I never saw that to be the case. Don’t let anyone tell you that this guy doesn’t try. If anything, he was trying too much before. KAT always had a tendency to make these big, heroic blocks. He’s soar way out of position and, to his credit, made hell for the offensive player and altered the shot enough that it would rim out. The problem was that whoever he was supposed to be boxing out, found it way too easy to grab rebounds and put the ball in. But lately, Towns has been more patient and decisive going for blocks, being sure not to chase too far out of position. As well as improving his timing on going for blocks.
Taj Gibson has become the unsung hero for the team this season. He’s always been the guy that’s going to play hard defense and fight for rebounds. But we really have to commend his offense this past month. 13 points on 65% TS, not a stat that’s really going to jump out on you on a box score but his value is found when you realize how many close games the Timberwolves have played this month and how incredibly key he has been in those close games. Taj actually ended the month of December averaging 18 points over the last 4 games. That’s a huge boost when you’re already missing your starting point guard in Jeff Teague, and Andrew Wiggins has a down month.
A debt of gratitude is also deserved to Jamal Crawford. Who could’ve seen this coming? Crawford’s numbers are nothing to write home about but he goes out and hits big shot after big shot. The confidence that he displays for a 37-year-old, 17-year vet is absolutely unreal. Just looking at a rundown of his career numbers, you’d expect that this is a down year from Crawford, but he’s been composed, confident and clutch ever since he hit the game winner against Utah at the start of the season.
As I mentioned before, it hasn’t all been good and there is definite room for improvement. They seem to do a great job of coming out of the gate strong. On back to back nights against the Pacers and Lakers, they started the game with a 17-0 run and a 16-0 run. They’ve also had multiple 10+ leads after the first quarter this month. But they typically squander these leads in the second half which leads to the close games I mentioned and even a couple tough losses. Most notably, the game against the Bucks where the Wolves where the Wolves managed just 12 points in the 4th and let the game slip away when it seemed they had it secured for most of the first half. This is a trait that Timberwolves fans know well and one that plagued us last season. Fortunately, now, the team is more equipped to fend off those late runs by opponents and hopefully, it’s a peculiarity that the team leaves behind in 2017.
Another glaring shy spot for the Timberwolves this month has, unfortunately, been Andrew Wiggins. Wiggins continues to be one of the more perplexing and honestly frustrating players in the NBA today. It’s not even so much that he’s been bad. Just wildly inefficient and inconsistent...Okay, maybe that’s bad. Decide for yourself, but Andrew averaged just 15.5 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 1.2 assists in December. The lowest he’s averaged in each statistical category since his rookie season. He also currently holds the 3rd lowest offensive rating on the team, ahead of only Shabazz Muhammad and Cole Aldrich, who played a combined 13 minutes in December. Wiggins also holds just a 62% from the free throw line. So, it’s hard to see where exactly he fits in on this team. He plays essentially the same game as Butler only Butler is worlds better at it than him, and he can’t seem to be consistent from the line. His numbers aren’t necessarily awful in the big picture of the team. He’s doing enough for his team to be successful and has a good attitude, but you’d expect more from a number one overall pick that was touted as highly as Wiggins. Don’t even come close to writing him off though. He’s still an effective scorer when he ’s in his zone. But he could use a lesson in confidence and patience from Jamal Crawford and Jimmy Butler.
The Wolves now head into January, which will be the toughest month for them this season. 12 of their games are against teams currently holding playoff positions. They’ll have to endure at least most of the season without Jeff Teague as he will be sidelined for another 2-4 weeks. And although Tyus Jones is a serviceable guard on both ends, Teague’s veteran leadership will be missed in those tough games against Kyrie Irving, Damian Lillard, Steph Curry, Kyle Lowry, and Isaiah Thomas.
However, if December is any indication of what the Wolves are capable of, and if they can at least hold onto a .500 record within the month of January, they should be a lock for a top 5 seed in the West.